I think that social media was made for family historians. We are different from other people - we actually enjoy finding distant relatives and keeping in touch with them! Social media helps us to find relatives and old friends in ways that were not possible in the days of mailing lists and message boards.
The first time I said that was more than four years ago, in this post. Four years is a long time on the internet, and things have changed. Some of these sites have fallen off my radar so it's … [Read more...]

I've bitten the bullet and had a play with the new profile in Facebook. You'll be able to see it on 1st October. I will take you through the process of setting it up (once you've agreed to do so). At the moment it's only open to developers.
When I said yes, I accepted the option to take the tour. First up you can select the cover (the large photo). It selected the most recent photo that had been tagged with my name. As you can see, this isn't me - it's my beautiful great-grand-nephew:
When … [Read more...]

I've been playing with Google+ for a few days now, and I've had some time to experiment and to see how others in my circles are reacting to it.
Most seem to be using it as a substitute for Facebook - posting to a limited audience in their own circles. Many of them like that you can more easily post about specific subjects to specific people, a capability that Facebook has but hides very well.
The more public figures - developers and power-bloggers, for example, are making everything … [Read more...]

Google+ is Google's new experiment in the world of social networks. I say 'experiment' because it is only in limited release; you have to wait for someone to be able to invite you, and then you have to accept the invitation during one of the brief, unpredictable periods when new members are being accepted. I also call it an 'experiment' because Google have tried something similar before. It was called Google Wave and it didn't catch on. Google Wave was removed from circulation.
It is … [Read more...]

I have written previously about how family history societies can use social media and why I think they should. Social media is a great way to connect with people and let them know what you offer, especially people you may not otherwise reach.
I would love to start a list of societies that use social media - Facebook, Twitter, a blog, Flickr, YouTube, and so on - and put it on this site somewhere. Currently the list is so small that it seems almost counter-productive, but I am willing to try … [Read more...]

Last month I gave a talk to some 'seniors' about social media, particularly Facebook. Many of them are wary of using social media because of privacy concerns, and talking to them made me realise that there are a lot of misconceptions that make people more fearful than they need to be.
One that stands out involves requests from other people. Some of them had received friend requests from others, usually relatives, that arrived in the form of an email. These emails come from Facebook and so the … [Read more...]

A lot of large companies and organisations are using social media to attract new customers and members, and to keep in touch with the ones they have. Those that don't are learning how to do so.
I think small volunteer organisations like family history societies should do the same. It is even more important for societies to use low-cost ways of reaching people that cost little more than the time of a regular volunteer or two.
Most family history societies have at least a basic website so … [Read more...]

I am a recent convert to Facebook. It's a web application that I thought was used by teenagers but it seems I was wrong because when I asked my teenage nieces they didn't know what I was talking about. They use MySpace.
Facebook seems to be used by young adults and older adults. It's a networking site for keeping in contact with people and letting them know how you are and what you are doing. Your contacts are called friends and they have to agree to be your friend, so it keeps the spam … [Read more...]